November 1944.
Few within the weakening ranks of the Nazis would dare admit their collapse was near. Instead they launch a cynical revenge, firing the V2 rocket on London. Only it’s a dud, missing its targets. Something else no one will admit. Rumours of a defector circulate and Rudi Graf, the rocket engineer, comes under suspicion. Meanwhile, WAAF officer Kay Caton-Walsh is despatched from Britain to trace the V2 launch sites and neutralise them.
Unknown to each other, Graf and Caton-Walsh find themselves on opposite sides of the hunt for the saboteur.
As David Marsland writes in the Evening Standard’s review:
“Set over five days, the pace is relentless. You can be staring at the exhaust of a rocket in the sky over Scheveningen in Holland, flick a page, and be in Chancery Lane, feeling the tiny change in air pressure that comes just before a supersonic missile lands”.
And it’s that combination of thrilling storyline with powerful historical detail that marks out Robert Harris as an author at the top of his game.
Hardback, Cornerstone, £20 – signed copies available.
To order a copy, please email books@hatchards.co.uk or telephone 0207 439 9921 – we look forward to hearing from you.